Endangered lemur baby born at Houston Zoo

Updated 11:48 am, Tuesday, February 19, 2013

The Houston Zoo welcomed a rare baby sifaka, an endangered animal in the lemur family, to its primate exhibit on January 28.

The Houston Zoo welcomed a rare baby sifaka, an endangered animal in the lemur family, to its primate exhibit on January 28.

Photo: Houston Zoo

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The Houston Zoo welcomed a rare baby sifaka, an endangered animal in the lemur family, to its primate exhibit on January 28.

The Houston Zoo welcomed a rare baby sifaka, an endangered animal in the lemur family, to its primate exhibit on January 28.

Photo: Houston Zoo

Endangered lemur baby born at Houston Zoo

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The Houston Zoo welcomed a rare baby sifaka, an endangered animal in the lemur family, to its primate exhibit last month.

The new sifaka was born on Jan. 28 to mother Zenobia and father Gaius. Sifaka originate in Madagascar, where zoo officials say deforestation has been getting worse every year.

The newest addition to the family weighed only 3.4 ounces at birth and requires special care, with keepers making sure the babies are nursing and remain healthy. Sifakas grow to be about 7 to 8 pounds. Zenobia has birthed two other sons at the zoo, but they live with their father at the Mesker Park Zoo in Indiana, according to the Houston Zoo.

Sifakas eat 100 different varieties of plants in the wild, but zoo officials say rose, natal plum and red-tipped photina are their favorites.

For the next three to four weeks, the new sifaka will cling to its mother's belly. Then, for three to four months will ride on her back. The sifaka are known for leaping up to 20 feet.

The sifakas exhibit is located in the Wortham World of Primates at the Houston Zoo.